Re: The FEAR is Our own worst enemy. (Re)

["D. Kosloff" <dkosloff@ncweb.com>]

How did you know about that bank?

Don Kosloff mailto:dkosloff@ncweb.com
2910 Main St., Perry OH 44081

----- Original Message -----
From: Bob Flood <bflood@SLAC.Stanford.EDU>
To: Multiple recipients of list <radsafe@romulus.ehs.uiuc.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, February 15, 2000 10:54 AM
Subject: Re: The FEAR is Our own worst enemy. (Re)


> At 01:20 AM 2/15/00 -0600, you wrote:
> >
> >> It is impossible to demonstrate something has no risk.
> >
> >Because . . .  (?) few (if any) objects or activities have no risk.
>
> No, it's because you can't prove a negative. For example, let's have you
> prove that did not rob a bank yesterday. Identify every bank that you
> didn't rob, the witnesses that saw you not rob them, and the FBI report
> identifying all the fingerprints that aren't yours.
>
> You really can't prove a negative.
>
> And this is the environment in which the nuclear industry is required to
> operate. The highly visible and vocal opposition demands that the industry
> be eradicated because it cannot prove that it isn't killing people. The
> opposition can't prove that it IS killing people, but they don't seem to
> feel there's any reason why they should - they are very comfortable with
> the idea that it's the industry's obligation to prove they don't. How
> convenient. It's a pity we have a press that can't figure this out. And as
> long as the press don't get wise to this technique, the opposition will be
> far more effective at scaring people than we ever will be at undoing this
> damage.
>
> But the question remains, how do we change this?
>
> Bob Flood
> Stanford Linear Accelerator Center
> bflood@slac.stanford.edu
> (650) 926-3793
>
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